Metapost: Scheduling Change

Prior to my surgery and disability leave, this was the schedule that I was keeping:

Monday: Reviews (if any)
Tuesday: Narnia
Wednesday: Author Interviews
Thursday: Random Deconstruction
Friday: Open Thread
Saturday: Twilight
Sunday: Recommends

It was a good schedule. I'm proud that I managed to keep it for most of 2012. However, due to work and life and potential upcoming commitments, I am announcing that moving forward, I am going to this revised schedule:

Monday: "Monday Musings" (combination Open Thread + Recommends)
Tuesday: --
Wednesday: Random Deconstruction (usually Narnia, not always)
Thursday: --
Friday: Random Deconstruction (usually Twilight, not always)
Sunday: Reviews (if any)

Thematically, this is how the new schedule shapes up:

Monday / Wednesday / Friday: Actual Posts
Tuesday / Thursday / Saturday: Moderating and Replying to Comments
Sunday: Rest and Creating New Content

There are several reasons for the new posting schedule:

  1. Real Life Conflicts: Monday / Wednesday / Friday are work days for me, with Tuesdays / Thursdays being doctor-groceries-bedrest days. I can comment from bedrest (usually) more easily than I can from work, and I think I'm better at responding to comments when I let them sit for a day or so. (Less chance for me to completely misunderstand, etc.)
  2. Reduced Deconstructions: This brings us down from 3 deconstructions a week (Narnia + Twilight + Wild Card) to 2 deconstructions a week. That saves me an enormous amount of time and means that the actual 2 posted will be higher quality and less random RARGH and therefore hopefully less whoops-fail.
  3. No Author Interviews: I really hate to give these up, but something has to give, and these posts get the fewest comments, so there you are. Never let it be said that I'm not mercenary. For those of you who are regular readers AND writers, you're still welcome to email me and I can make exceptions, but the offer is no longer open to everyone on earth and their dog. Alas. 
  4. Consolidated Open Threads / Recommends: This is purely and simply another time-saving cut. I do heartily encourage everyone to keep the open threads alive all week long. Because I do love the open threads / recommends / blog-a-rounds / chat-a-thons.

I'm genuinely really sorry to spring this change on everyone; I really really really crave stability and I know that a completely new posting schedule after almost two years on the last one may be jarring to some of you out there in readerland. I really apologize for that, and I want you to know that I'm not making these changes lightly. I consider this a necessary move, and I hope that you can still enjoy the posting and the climate here.

Thank you.

This change will take effect next week on Monday, September 24th.

12 comments:

Ana Mardoll said...

ETA: Quick clarification; there are several unformatted author interviews in my inbox. Those will be posted on Sundays from here on out until they are all gone.

MurdererForb said...

@!http://goo.gl/iJ5QQ

Randy Kay said...

I've always been impressed with your post output, to be perfectly honest, so even with a cutback in raw numbers, I think you're ahead of many bloggers on that front. I'm just happy that you'll be keeping on with Twilight and Narnia (alright, assuming that you'll roll into Dawn Treader after Caspian [might be wrong on order here]); I love your deconstructions.

Amaryllis said...

We'll get used to whatever schedule suits you best. We'd rather have you healthy and happy and rested and enjoying your blog on a schedule that fits your life now, instead of stressing out over what's not working for you any more.

And you absolutely should be proud of everything you accomplished here.

depizan said...

Your health is way more important than any schedule! I'm pretty sure we can manage to keep ourselves entertained in between posts. :)

Isator Levi said...

Ohhh, I wanted to comment for the interview for the "Leaping the Blue Moon" book, it's just that I need to wait for other people to make comments so that I can make mine through Reply.

But yeah, that would seem like the one to drop.

Hope the eased workload will help you out. {thumbs up}

jill heather said...

Whatever you need to do to keep yourself mentally and physically healthy is good, Ana.

Pqw said...

I hadn't really noticed you were on such a well-defined schedule. Frankly, I'm amazed at the workload you've been managing! For two years - wow!

Feel free to do what you need to do for you. As long as you're writing, I'll keep coming back. This site is now my #1 Must Check First blog.

FrenchRoast said...

You do whatever you need to do to take care of you. After all, new posts are great, but not if they're making your life harder. I only found your blog recently, and I'm happy to read whatever, whenever. :)

Silver Adept said...

while Ana = "sick"
Ana.health.priority = "high"

everything else is secondary. Would rather have less frequency, same quality, and less spoon drain than trying to keep the pave and have you suffer.

Dragoness Eclectic said...

*hugs*

Seriously, I've wondered how the heck you were keeping up a posting schedule like this at all. A few months ago when you said you were going on hiatus/cutting back due to health issues, it didn't seem like your posts slowed down or became shorter. (Well, maybe the Twilight ones? I don't read them because I've never read the books).

It helps put into perspective how debilitating my depression is, and what a lying little bastard depression is, that I find your output (and Seanan MacGuire's) astonishingly high compared to what I even dream of managing. My depression tries to tell me I'm just lazy and suck at life, because look at what someone with a chronic illness (you) can do compared to me!

Timothy (TRiG) said...

I can never remember posting schedules anyway (except for Khaos Komix, and even there only because I try to watch the livestreams of the comic pages being drawn), so I probably won't notice a difference. And, I must say, the post quality is consistently wonderfully high.

TRiG.

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